Shopping for a new rifle.

[steve817]

Apparently 2013 was a good year for the company and we will be receiving larger than usual bonus checks. I'm considering

1. Henry Big Boy in .357
2. Winchester Model 94 in .38-55
and at the top of my bucket list
3. Pedersoli 1874 Sharps Quigley in .45-70 (The kid in me is really screaming for this one)

For the price of the Pedersoli I could almost buy the other two. The Henry would no doubt be the cheapest one to shoot. As much as I want a rifle that is really capable of reaching out and touching something, I don't have many places where I could really run the Sharps through the ringer. Where I hunt, my longest open shot is maybe 150 yards.

Anyone have any opinions on the pros and cons of each? Or should I just follow my dreams no matter how impractical they may be?

[BrentD]

If you get the Sharps (Pedersoli or other), you could decide to load it with black and lead instead of white and copper. I'm just guessing but that might be a substantially different experience for you and one that you might really enjoy. I bought mine years ago though, like you, I didn't have a lot of places to use it (or so I thought), but it became exciting enough to me that now I own quite a few similar rifles and travel around the country to shoot them in matches or hunt in distant places that I might never have gone.

So, I'll pull for the Sharps and a Pedersoli is a fine one, though there are better available.

Further down your list, I'd get a Marlin .38-55 before I got a Winchester. And really for just one particular reason - so I could easily shoot black powder and lead and clean from the breech. It can be done with a 94 Winchester but it isn't really that much fun.

Getting either #1 or #2 is a lot like getting another dog when you already have one - that can be a great thing.

But getting a Sharps is like owning a dog and getting a new horse - it is a life changing event. Maybe good maybe not. But if not, you won't lose much when you get out of it (unlike the horse). Go with the Sharps, but think about a used Shiloh or C.Sharps rifle or a different, but quality singleshot such as a Winchester 1885 or Ballard.

It all just depends.

[Pete44ru]

.

JMO, but a .38-55 can be the best 150 yard hunting levergun had - think of one as a .45-70 after a diet (in both cartridge & gun size/weight).

Eye candy they may be, but I would suggest anyone considering a Sharps-type right actually handle one & experience the jar of the heavy hammer's fall, before ordering or buying one.

The brass Henry's smooth-operating, but isn't known as a "fat boy" by being a light or even a medium weight rifle.


.

[Ray Newman]

Brent made some very good points.

[7.62 Precision]

For your area, a nice Winchester .38-55 would give you both practicality and class. I don't care as much for Marlin 336s, but I do like the older Marlins (1893, 36, etc.).

I don't like the Henrys, other than the rimfires. They don't have the same lines and balance as traditional leverguns, and I don't like the lack of a loading gate. For the price they are charging, they could afford to add a loading gate. I want to like the Henrys, but for the price of one I can get an older Winchester or Marlin, and have a rifle I like a lot more.

I really like Sharps rifles. A rifle does not necessarily have to be practical to be a lot of fun.

[MrMurphy]

Split the difference, get a Sharps carbine?

Still a .45-70, powerful and accurate, but handier for closer ranges.

[Ray Newman]

"I really like Sharps rifles. A rifle does not necessarily have to be practical to be a lot of fun."
--7.62 Precision

BINGO!: we have a winner.

[mod71alaska]

steve817:
"...Or should I just follow my dreams no matter how impractical they may be?"

Follow your Dreams! What else are they for

[3leggedturtle]

38/55. 250grRNFP at 1100 to 1600fps cant be beat. Some roundballs for plinking and small game loads. Find a beater 30/30 send it to JES REboring to be redone in 38/55 and probably have enough left over to justify buying your Sharps

[Blaine]

I have the 12# Sharps, now, I want to get a small, light Sharps carbine in 38-55

[vancelw]

I would think a Winchester .38-55 would cost more than a Pedersoli Sharps?? Not half as much at least. At least "new" anyway.

I shoot a Chief Crazy Horse because it was cheaper than trying to buy a new .38-55, even though now they are 899 instead of 1499

You can buy a Farmingdale Shiloh Sharps for $1500 or less, which is great if you want to shoot paper-patch

[BrentD]

I would caution against buying a Farmingdale Shiloh personally. At least if you don't know why a Farmer is different than a Big Timber. I own and shoot a Farmer, so I say this with some experience (and investment).

Get a Sharps and get a whole life-style in the package.

Really.

[Griff]

My answer would depend on your intended use. Do you reload? Check out the cost of components if you do, or ammo if you don't. Any rifle you can't afford to feed is a LOT less fun than one you can!

And while the Sharps is a grand rfle, don't overlook the Highwall. It actually has a couple of advantages over the Sharps. It's also avaiable .38-55. And while it ain't the powerhouse the .45-70 is, it doesn't eat the powder and lead the .45 does. And it doesn't kick you as hard in the process!

[AJMD429]

Maybe I missed more information, but SO MUCH depends on what you already have.

[CowboyTutt]

Good point Doc.

If you have a chance to go to a Cabelas and shoulder/cycle some Sharps and Win 1885 rifles you might be surprised. I found the 1885 had it all over the earlier Sharps design. -Tutt

[BrentD]

1885s are probably the finest singleshot rifle ever built. I don't see anything that really comes close to challenging them and I have several which happen to be among my finest and most used competition rifles as well as hunting rifles.

However, there is also nothing that compares to a Sharps for some reason. Ergonomically, the Winchester kills the Sharps every time. But the Sharps has historical cache like no other.

If you dream of a Sharps, then you must have one, and the 85 can come later.

Brent

[TedH]

I really wanted a Sharps since the first time I watched Quigley. I finally got one Christmas 2012 when my wife surprised me with one. I've had more fun shooting and loading for that rifle than any other gun I've ever owned. If you've never played with one, and especially if you've never shot the 45-70 with black and cast, then you definately need to go that route.

[stretch]

Gee, Steve - I'd listen to the kid in ya and go for the Sharps.
I've wanted one for years myself, but have never had the scratch.

Henrys and Winchester 94s are all over the place, but I like those
Sharps replicas. Handsome rifles and something a little bit different!

TedH had some good comments on 'em, too.

-Stretch

[steve817]

Good point Doc.

If you have a chance to go to a Cabelas and shoulder/cycle some Sharps and Win 1885 rifles you might be surprised. I found the 1885 had it all over the earlier Sharps design. -Tutt

I did just that and think the added weight in the Sharps would be to my benefit considering that it is firing such a large round. They had the exact one I was looking at as well. It was $1899.00 but didn't include the tang sight. I have seen one online for $1675.00 and it did. I'd really like to shoot one before buying it. I'd hate to spend that much for a rifle only to find out that I'm not too crazy about it.

I did walk out with a Rossi R92 in .357 just to satisfy my buying urge. I did that after handling the Henry

[Ray Newman]

What! -- $1899.00 for a Italian Sharps??

Before I would pay that much, I would save up an extra US$200.00 or so and buy a Shiloh-Sharps.

[CowboyTutt]

I did just that and think the added weight in the Sharps would be to my benefit considering that it is firing such a large round. They had the exact one I was looking at as well. It was $1899.00 but didn't include the tang sight. I have seen one online for $1675.00 and it did. I'd really like to shoot one before buying it. I'd hate to spend that much for a rifle only to find out that I'm not too crazy about it.

Steve, if it felt right to you, then I would recommend you buy it then, hands down! There is no substitute for actually handling the rifle your going to buy!

Regards,

-Tutt

[steve817]

What! -- $1899.00 for a Italian Sharps??

Before I would pay that much, I would save up an extra US$200.00 or so and buy a Shiloh-Sharps.

I can't find the one I want for that much not a Shiloh anyway. It has to look like this one.

[Griff]

Good point Doc.

If you have a chance to go to a Cabelas and shoulder/cycle some Sharps and Win 1885 rifles you might be surprised. I found the 1885 had it all over the earlier Sharps design. -Tutt

I did just that and think the added weight in the Sharps would be to my benefit considering that it is firing such a large round. They had the exact one I was looking at as well. It was $1899.00 but didn't include the tang sight. I have seen one online for $1675.00 and it did. I'd really like to shoot one before buying it. I'd hate to spend that much for a rifle only to find out that I'm not too crazy about it.

I did walk out with a Rossi R92 in .357 just to satisfy my buying urge. I did that after handling the Henry

You can shoot mine sometime. It's a .40-90SBN, and although it shoots a lighter bullet than some of the heavier 45s... it also shoots the a mite faster than a .45-70 or a .45-90.

Shoot me a PM with an email or phone...

[M. M. Wright]

Buy the Sharps. Saw one at a gun show last week end for $750. Nice Pedersoli with dark wood. Had to push myself away.

[Streetstar]

Brent made some very good points.

Agreed -- (about the Sharps --- not necessarilly the black powder - for me at least)

[steve817]

Buy the Sharps. Saw one at a gun show last week end for $750. Nice Pedersoli with dark wood. Had to push myself away.

Man! if I found the one I wanted for $750 this would be a totally different conversation.

[tman]

Were me, an old SRC 38-55 with a good supply of Buffaloe Boar 255 grain bullets.